The collection consists of newsclippings, promotional material and booklets relating to Reston. Also included are printed material, publications, scrapbooks, and his speeches and paperwork from various conferences he attended at different universities around the country.

Robert E. Simon, Jr., was born in New York City in 1914. After graduating from Harvard, Simon took over the family real estate management and development business. In 1961, with the proceeds from the sale of a family property, Carnegie Hall, Simon purchased 6,750 acres of land in Fairfax County, Virginia, which would become Reston, Virginia. Reston is now recognized as the foremost Planned Community in the United States. Simon's Planned Community, or new town, emphasized the quality of life for the individual and provided a community where people could live, work, and play.

The Robert E. Simon Jr. Papers are comprised of newsclippings, promotional material and booklets relating to Reston. Also included are printed material, publications and scrapbooks. Robert E. Simon Jr. included in his donation his speeches and paperwork from various conferences he attended at different universities around the country.

Series one is titled correspondence and is dated from 1975 to 2001. The series is small and is only in box 1. Some of the correspondence is between Robert E. Simon Jr. and Martha Pennino. Also included in the series are invitations for various speaking engagements.

Series two is titled Reston General Information and is dated from 1960 to 1990. The series is contained within boxes 1 through 4. In this series there are various documents from Reston, including promotional material, newsclippings and zoning information.

Series three is titled Reston Community Centers and is dated from 1963 to 1991. The series is contained in box 4. The series is information from different organizations in Reston such as North Golf Course and Reston Day Care.

Series four is titled Reston Finance and is dated from 1963 to 1976. The series is contained in boxes 4 and 5. The series is general information on the finances of Reston. Included in the series are documents on taxes, consulting firms and various other sources.

Series five is titled Building Projects and is dated from 1961 to 1975. The series is contained in boxes 5 and 6. The series has information dealing with different projects in Reston from various architectural firms and other corporations involved in the projects.

Series six is titled National File and is dated from 1964 to 1987. The series is contained in boxes 6 and 7. The series includes information from national organizations such as the League of Women Voters and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Series seven is titled Conferences and is dated from 1964 to 1987. The series is contained in boxes 7 through 10. The information in this series is from various conferences that Robert E. Simon Jr. attended during these years. Included are Harvard University, Columbia University and other universities in the United States that had conferences relating to Planned Communities.

Series eight is titled Planned Communities and is dated from 1962 to 1975. The series contained in boxes 10 and 11. The documents in this series is information from different planned communities. There are international communities in Great Britain and communities within the United States, such as Columbia, Maryland.

Series nine is titled Media and is dated from 1960 to 2003. The series is contained in boxes 11 and 12. The series is comprised of negatives, slides, photographs, videotapes and a single reel. The videotapes are mostly interviews with Robert E. Simon Jr. about Reston.

Series ten is titled Oversize and is dated from 1960 to 2006. The series is contained in boxes 13 through 15. The series is mostly newsclippings from the 1960s and more recent magazine publications from the twenty-first century. The articles all relate to Reston and the developments there.

The Robert E. Simon Jr. papers was originally attached to the larger Planned Community Archives collection currently in the Special Collections Research Center. In 2009 the documents were removed and organized into a separate collection still housed in the Special Collections Research Center at George Mason University Libraries. The old box and folder numbers are also included as part of the new arrangement.

Series one is titled correspondence. The series has some correspondence between Robert E. Simon Jr. and Martha Pennino and invitations for various speaking engagements. The series is dated from 1975 to 2001.

The documents in this series is information from different planned communities. There are international communities in Great Britain and communities within the United States, such as Columbia, Maryland.

Newsclipping: The Washington Post, "New Reston Community To Be Subject of Study", "Study of Reston To Be Financed By Ford Grant", "Foundation Approves Grant for Study of Reston Project" and "New Cities Sprout Up As Population Zooms",
1963